Aldgate East Station

Address: Whitechapel High St,
London E1 7PT
Opened: 31st October 1938
Station Code: ALE
Fare Zone: 1

London Underground Line(s) Served:

District Line, Hammersmith & City Line

Service Pattern(s):

District Line –

12 trains per hour to Upminster
3 trains per hour to Barking
6 trains per hour to Ealing Broadway
6 trains per hour to Richmond
3 trains per hour to Wimbledon

Hammersmith & City Line –

6 trains per hour to Barking
6 trains per hour to Hammersmith

OSI:

Aldgate (280 Metres) for Circle and Metropolitan Lines

Station History

The original Aldgate East Station was opened jointly by the Metropolitan Railway and the District Railway on the new eastern extension of the latter on 6th October 1884.

Little of note occurred at the station in the following decades until the London Passenger Transport Board was formed in 1933.

The new entity conceived the 1935-1940 New Works Programme which detailed a large number of projects aimed at extending and improving the services it provided on the Underground.

One of these projects was to remedy an issue that had existed since the opening of the new District Line extension, that of the extremely tight track curve between it and the Metropolitan Railway.

To necessitate the enlargement of the curve, and to provide sufficient space for trains to be held on any leg of the triangle without fouling points or signals, it was determined that Aldgate East Station needed to be relocated.

In advance of construction being started, the next station along the line, St Mary’s (Whitechapel Road), was closed on 30th April 1938. The new Aldgate East was deemed close enough to make St Mary’s surplus to requirement.

The new station was designed to be completely underground, allowing for the construction of a much-needed pedestrian underpass below the local roads. To allow room for this, the tracks below needed to be lowered by 2 metres. For this to happen while keeping services running, the ground below the track was excavated and was placed on temporary wooden trestles.

Upon completion of the new station platforms and the associated infrastructure, over 900 workmen were assembled on the site and they completed the lowering of the entire track to the new level overnight.

The original station saw its last passenger service on the evening of 30th October 1938 and it was closed, with the new station, located 150 metres to the east, commencing operation at the start of service on 31st October.